I watched a lot of series from Netflix this summer in Berlin and my three favorites were Sherlock, Bates Motel and Penny Dreadful. I was immediately mesmerized by Penny Dreadful, I binge-watched it and it quickly earned its place in my top 10 favorite series of all time. That's not surprising as it has vampires, werewolves and witches in it. My three favorite things. Penny Dreadful is a psychological thriller/drama/horror -series created by John Logan for Showtime. Sam Mendes works as an executive producer alongside Logan.

The series brings together some of horror literature's most famous characters such as Dracula, Dr. Frankenstein and Dorian Gray and sets them in Victorian London (1891) which is a perfect setting for this dark story. These famous characters are not at the center of the story so much as an unusual pair of medium Vanessa Ives (Eva Green) and her childhood best friend's father Sir Malcolm Murray (Timothy Dalton). Sir Malcolm Murray is an African explorer who has sacrificed his relationship with his family for fame and glory and lost his son in the process. Now his daughter and only living child Mina (Olivia Llewellyn) has been abducted by an evil creature, a vampire. Mina reaches out to her childhood best friend Vanessa who has grown up to an intriguing, collected woman with clairvoyant and supernatural powers. Sir Malcolm and Vanessa join forces and set out to rescue Mina. They gather a small group of people to help them: Sir Malcolm's sentry and confidant Sembene (Danny Sapani), American gunslinger Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett), doctor Victor Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway) and a dandy Egyptologist Ferdinand Lyle, who is first called to help translate some hieroglyphics. As they try to rescue Mina, Vanessa must also battle with her own demons. One in particular who again tries to possess her. The other members of the team are also not without their inner demons. The series' other pivotal characters include a handsome genteleman called Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney) and Dr. Frankenstein's creations John (Rory Kinnear) and Lily (Billie Piper). As for the dark forces trying to get to Vanessa there are a couple who are relentless. Evelyn Poole (Helen McCrory) and her daughter Hecate (Sarah Greene) are formidable witches deeply immersed in the occult and in the service of the demon. They are perhaps the greatest living threat to Vanessa on earth.

Eva Green as Vanessa Ives is absolutely mesmerizing. She gives such a visceral and intense performance that I think there aren't many who could accomplish it with such conviction. Penny Dreadful is her show. Another who portrays his character with perfection is Rory Kinnear as Dr. Frankenstein's hideous first creation. My favorite character is unsurprisingly Vanessa and Ferninand Lyle who brings a much needed toffee-nosed lightness to the otherwise quite dark characters. Blood and gore are not to be avoided but they're certainly not the center of the series. At it's core Penny Dreadful tells a story of society's outcasts learning to accept their suffering lot in life. It is perhaps the most powerful drama I've ever seen. It shows its characters emotions in such raw honesty and potency that they are palpable. It is utterly perfect in its portrayal of vulnerability, loss and loneliness, despair, pain, guilt and regret, horror, and also friendship, faith, hope and love. All emotions are deeply felt and you find yourself feeling empathy even towards those who at first seem wholly evil. I think I've never been so moved and brought to tears so many times by any other series than this. Credit has to also be given to the score by Abel Korzeniowski which amplifies the emotions in the series even more. Penny Dreadful is a remarkable show filled with good and evil, light, dark, shadows and the things in between. It's run for two seasons thus far, altogether 18 episodes. The third season is set to air in 2016. It's no surprise I wait for its spine-tingling mystery and suspense impatiently. In the meantime one can watch the two existing seasons again (the next time will be my third..or fourth?) and listen to this playlist I've compiled. Naturally, it's inspired by Penny Dreadful and will be given to you as the night grows darker.

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Who Are You?

A 31-year-old perfectionist, incurable aesthetician and collector of various things such as books, bambi figurines & typewriters. Loves f.e. music, movies, art, Moomins, playing cards, woolly socks, walks in the forest and delving into other worlds.

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